The limits of tolerance We are somewhat surprised that an English-only version of O Canada played at the Calgary Stampede has produced such controversy. The Calgary Herald‘s Don Braid, a self-described “francophile,” suggests it runs afoul of the Stampede’s fundamentally hospitable nature. But we’re left wondering: Is it ever OK to sing the English-only anthem […]

The wish of some Ontario francophones to live in a fantasy world regarding the importance of the French language outweighs their neighbours’ Charter right to freedom of expression — according to the Ontario Court of Appeal. Okay, okay — that’s not quite how the court put it. But that is nevertheless the essence of last […]

It’s the nature of the beast In which the Tories continue slowly destroying themselves for no reason at all. The Ottawa Citizen’s Dan Gardner directs some well-deserved praise at Elizabeth May for her wonkish, principled and useful opposition to the government’s omnibus “budget” bill. Ultimately the bill will pass, of course, and May suspects the […]

In case you haven’t noticed, the massive protests in Quebec have been rather one-sided, culturally speaking. As the mindless mobs fill the streets day after day, protesting the injustice of having to pay a few hundred dollars more in tuition, you will find that amongst them, almost nary is heard an English-language word. This is […]

WEEKEND ROUNDUP For shame! In which the punditocracy expresses its profound sadness at the Opposition Leader’s behaviour. The Globe and Mail‘s Jeffrey Simpson leads the tut-tut brigade against Thomas Mulcair for his intemperate and economically dubious remarks about oil exports driving up the dollar and putting salt-of-the-earth manufacturing types out of work. There are lots […]

NDP languages critic Yvon Godin tabled a private member's bill Tuesday that would require filling positions such as auditor-general and privacy commissioner to be proficient in both official languages.

Is this the end of Peter MacKay? Postmedia’s Andrew Coyne says the F-35 affair is, ahem, “a fiasco from top to bottom, combining lapses of professional ethics, ministerial responsibility and democratic accountability into one spectacular illustration of how completely our system of government has gone to hell.” Read the whole thing, as they say. You […]

WEEKEND ROUNDUP In which Stephen Harper destroys the Earth Gosh, it’s great to see hyperbole and the Toronto Star‘s Christopher Hume getting along so well after all these years. “Though eminently forgettable,” he writes, “the recent federal budget reminds us why the environment is doomed.” Streamlining the environmental review process and trying to limit charitable […]

Budget pains Worthwhile federal budget previews come from John Ivison in the National Post and John Ibbitson in The Globe and Mail, but we’ll hold off on summarizing the commentary until, you know, the budget actually comes down. In the meantime, the Globe‘s John Doyle laments that even as CBC (television especially) seemed to try […]